– Niall Kelly reports from Las Vegas
CONOR MCGREGOR HAS hailed Muhammad Ali as a “special man” and said he cannot accept glowing comparisons to The Greatest.
McGregor’s fast hands and faster mouth have seen him likened to legendary boxing icon Ali.
And while it is an honour, the Dubliner says that he shouldn’t be put in the same bracket as his childhood sporting idol.
“I take inspiration and motivation from absolutely everything and anything: people chasing their dream, putting their head down, working hard,” McGregor said at Thursday’s press conference ahead of UFC 196, where he makes his welterweight debut against Nate Diaz.
“For me, obviously Muhammad Ali was probably the first combat sports star that I looked up to. I had never seen anything like that and I was fascinated by him growing up.
“I have been shaped by many people but thank you for that compliment again. It is a comparison that has been thrown at me a few times but I cannot accept a comparison like that.
Muhammad Ali is a special man. He did things that are unthinkable. He changed culture, period.
“Again, I am honoured to even be put in that bracket again.”
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